Petition

To Whom It May Concern:

The 1996 Joint Meeting of the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) and the European Association for the Study of Science and Technology (EASST) took place at Bielefeld, on 10-12 October, and brought together over 800 scholars from 37 countries. Some of us attended this Meeting; others have heard reports from colleagues who did. We have all been distressed to learn from our American Colleagues that the new academic session seems to have brought them no respite from the personal harassment and stress arising from the so-called "Science Wars" campaign. We wish to complain strongly about this blatant breach of scientific and scholarly good conduct.

We have also had brought to our attention certain published materials which unfairly misrepresent and deride the work of, and/or contain vicious ad hominem attacks on, scholars of substance and repute, many of whom are not American citizens. If such materials were to be published outside the United States, they would run a serious risk of prosecution (and possibly of punitive damages) under the laws of libel in force in other countries, for willful distortion and defamation. In any case, by any reasonable definition, they would also constitute examples of "scientific misconduct". Real harm is being done, and most of the authors under attach have no effective means of redress.

We call on you to make your position on the issues raised by this behavior clear and public, swiftly and decisively, to try to limit this mischievous damage to academic reputations and norms. The scurrilous tactics adopted in this campaign demean (and, we believe, will eventually destroy) the very "Science and Reason" its supporters purport to be defending.

David Edge, University of Edinburgh